A new measure metering the control ability and efficiency -- controllable abundance 1. Definition of The Unit Controllable Region Definition 1. The uint contrllable region is constituted by all initial state that can be controlled to the origin of the state space of the linear time-invariant systems with the unit input energy in the finite time interval . 2. Definition of The Controllable Abundance Definition 2. The controllable abundance is defined as the two-tuples , where and are the space dimension and the volume of the unit controllable region , respectively. Some results are in my paper arXiv 1705.08064 ( On Controllable Abundance Of Saturated-input Linear Discrete Systems )
关注： 1) wigner-seitz radius (au A)的物理含义； Wigner–Seitz radius与体积有关，那么会随压力变化而变化吗？ 2） 晶体的填充效率计算 请问，晶体的填充效率sphere packing efficiency 如何计算？ 空间利用率=晶胞中球的体积/晶胞体积；即球的半径怎么取？ 如文献中提到： Our calculations show that the sphere packing efficiency at 14 Mbar increases continuously in the order of 25.5%→29.4%→32.1%→33.93%→35.44% for ice X, Pbcm, Pbca, I-42d, and P21 structure, respectively. Huayung 解答： 晶体中最近邻原子间距的一半作为原子球半径，来考察填充效率。 附：RWIGS半径会随赝势不同而变化，如： POTCAR_O: RWIGS = 1.550; RWIGS = .820 wigner-seitz radius (au A) POTCAR_O_h: RWIGS = 1.400; RWIGS = .741 wigner-seitz radius (au A) POTCAR_O_s: RWIGS = 1.700; RWIGS = .900 wigner-seitz radius (au A) POTCAR_O_sv: RWIGS = 1.000; RWIGS = 0.529 wigner-seitz radius (au A POTCAR_H: RWIGS = .700; RWIGS = .370 wigner-seitz radius (au A) POTCAR_H_h: RWIGS = .700; RWIGS = .370 wigner-seitz radius (au A) 附- Wigner–Seitz radius The Wigner–Seitz radius , named after Eugene Wigner and Frederick Seitz , is the radius of a sphere whose volume is equal to the mean volume per atom in a solid . This parameter is used frequently in condensed matter physics to describe the density of a system. In a 3-D system with particles in a volume , the Wigner–Seitz radius is defined by Solving for we obtain where is the particle density of the valence electrons . For a non-interacting system, the average separation between two particles will be . The radius can also be calculated as where is molar mass , is mass density , and is the Avogadro number . This parameter is normally reported in atomic units , i.e., in units of the Bohr radius . Values of for single valence metals are listed below: Element Li 3.25 Na 3.93 K 4.86 Rb 5.20 Cs 5.62 更多参看： http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wigner–Seitz_cell http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphere_packing 附-H的赝势文件头部分 PAW_PBE H 15Jun2001 1.00000000000000000 parameters from PSCTR are: VRHFIN =H: ultrasoft test LEXCH = PE EATOM = 12.4884 eV, .9179 Ry TITEL = PAW_PBE H 15Jun2001 LULTRA = F use ultrasoft PP ? IUNSCR = 0 unscreen: 0-lin 1-nonlin 2-no RPACOR = .000 partial core radius POMASS = 1.000; ZVAL = 1.000 mass and valenz RCORE = 1.100 outmost cutoff radius RWIGS = .700; RWIGS = .370 wigner-seitz radius (au A) ENMAX = 250.000; ENMIN = 200.000 eV RCLOC = .701 cutoff for local pot LCOR = T correct aug charges LPAW = T paw PP EAUG = 400.000 RMAX = 2.174 core radius for proj-oper RAUG = 1.200 factor for augmentation sphere RDEP = 1.112 radius for radial grids QCUT = -5.749; QGAM = 11.498 optimization parameters Description l E TYP RCUT TYP RCUT 0 .000 23 1.100 0 .500 23 1.100 1 -.300 23 1.100 Error from kinetic energy argument (eV) NDATA = 100 STEP = 20.000 1.050 5.77 5.50 5.37 5.11 4.99 4.75 4.52 4.40 4.19 3.98 3.88 3.68 3.49 3.31 3.14 2.98 2.83 2.68 2.54 2.35 2.22 2.11 1.94 1.84 1.74 1.61 1.48 1.40 1.29 1.19 1.09 1.01 .925 .851 .782 .719 .642 .590 .526 .482 .430 .382 .339 .301 .267 .236 .209 .178 .157 .133 .113 .988E-01 .832E-01 .697E-01 .562E-01 .467E-01 .386E-01 .305E-01 .239E-01 .186E-01 .143E-01 .109E-01 .820E-02 .580E-02 .425E-02 .291E-02 .195E-02 .130E-02 .808E-03 .544E-03 .368E-03 .278E-03 .239E-03 .227E-03 .225E-03 .224E-03 .218E-03 .204E-03 .181E-03 .156E-03 .127E-03 .983E-04 .735E-04 .520E-04 .369E-04 .274E-04 .225E-04 .204E-04 .201E-04 .200E-04 .193E-04 .178E-04 .151E-04 .121E-04 .914E-05 .676E-05 .512E-05 .437E-05 .412E-05 .410E-05 END of PSCTR-controll parameters
Microfluidic systems can be designed to obtain and process measurements from small volumes of complex fluids with efficiency and speed,and without the need for an expert operator; this unique set of capabilities is precisely what is needed to create portable point-of-care (POC) medical diagnostic systems 1,2 . Fortunately for the microfluidics field, the military has always had a need to practise medicine in challenging and resource-limited environments, and so has long been trying to acquire robust medical technologies that add an absolute minimum to the burden of those people and machines transporting them. It was for this reason that microfluidics research in the United States was given a great boost in the 1990s by funding from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The technologies developed with DARPA’s support (for examples, see www.darpa.mil/MTO/mFlumes) have the characteristics needed for delivering appropriate medical diagnostics to the world’s poorest people. Today, the potential of microfluidic technologies to enhance the decentralization of medical testing is becoming accepted as one element in the next stage in the evolution of healthcare. Thanks to an upsurge in interest in (and funding of) healthcare in the developing world, combined with a slow pace of change in the developed world, this new microfluidic diagnostic technology (MDT) may be adopted first for civilian healthcare in the developing world. Some initial steps towards designing appropriate microfluidic diagnostic systems are described here. stable gas/liquid separation method with a PTFE membrane was developed by arranging a fluidic network in three dimensions to achieve almost zero dead volume at the gas/liquid extraction part
http://scienceblog.com/ Efforts to mitigate climate change must target energy efficiency Study brings a doubted exoplanet ‘back from the dead’ Scientists sharing space: Proximity breeds collaboration Scientists deepen genetic understanding of MS New genes discovered for body mass levels Robots in the Home: Will Older Adults Roll Out the Welcome Mat? Exercise boosts satisfaction with life Changing the balance of bacteria in drinking water to benefit consumers Bushmeat pushes African species to the brink Antibacterial Triclosan needs to be monitored
http://goldsea.com/Text/index.php?id=10526 Yi Cui's Nano-Wire Battery Venture Raises $25 Mil. Battery startup Amprius has raised $25 million to commercialize founder Yi Cui’s breakthrough in using silicon nano-wires to boost the efficiency of lithium-ion batteries. The funding source includes Google CEO Eric Schmidt and venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caulfield Byers, VantagePoint Venture Partners, Stanford University, Trident Capital and Chinese funds IPV Capital and Qian Neng Fund. Stanford Associate Professor Yi Cui has developed a battery cathode (the side of the battery that stores the positive charge) that uses silicon nano-wires to store up to 10 times the density of lithium ions as the carbon cathodes commonly used in even the most advanced lithium-ion batteries. The breakthrough has improved battery energy density up to 40% on the scale used in portable electronic devices like smartphones. Yi Cui (right) visited China’s Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in January of 2011. Cui hopes to scale up the concept to the far larger batteries used to power electric cars. Success there would give Amprius a virtually unlimited market since, for the forseeable future, batteries make up half the cost of electric cars and their cost and capacity are the limiting factors in their popularization. At the moment the battery industry coaxes out about a 2% efficiency improvement each year from lithium-ion batteries. “Our recent fundraising will enable us to deploy our first commercial product, validate our manufacturing processes, and launch a global presence,” said Amprius CEO Kang Sun, a 20-year tech venture veteran. Amprius was founded in 2008 by Yi Cui, a superstar associate professor and researcher at Stanford University. His breakthroughs in devising ways to configure functioning devices on the nano scale attracted a $10 million grant from Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology ( KAUST ). That grant is currently funding Cui’s sizeable Stanford research group focused on nanoscale phenomena for energy conversion, electronics, and nanobiotechnolog. His group has developed nanowire and nanocrystal materials for energy storage, solar cell and memory devices. Cui was the first person to demonstrate nanowire field effect biosensors. He has published 32 research papers related to nanowires and nanocrystals. He has presented his work in over 70 invited talks at conferences, universities, and research centers around the world. Among his inventions is a process for turning clothing into a battery by dying fabric with a solutioin containing carbon nanotubes. Yi Cui graduated from China’s University of Science and Technology in 1998. He moved to the U.S. to study at Harvard and obtained his PhD in chemistry there in 2002. He completed a two-year postdoctoral research project on electronics and colloidal nanocrystals at the University of California, Berkeley from 2003 to 2005. He then joined the Stanford University faculty as an assistant professor in the department of materials science and engineering. In 2010 he was elevated to the status of an associate professor. In 2011 was was appointed to the Photon Science Faculty at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. http://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?article_id=30750 Oh, to be young, smart and funded. Suddenly, sensationally and stupendously well funded. That pretty much describes Michael McGehee and Yi Cui. McGehee, associate professor of materials science and engineering, initiated the research proposal that won a $25 million grant from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), which is being built on the shore of the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia. Cui, an assistant professor in the same department, has a $10 million grant from KAUST. McGehee, 35, and Cui, 32, are only in the early months of work that will be supported by the five-year grants. But such an extraordinary level of funding was immediately life-changing. For McGehee, whose project involving solar cells is the impetus for the new Center for Advanced Molecular Photovoltaics at Stanford, the cachet of the KAUST grant has led to even more funding. A dozen companies are signing on—at either $30,000 or $50,000 annually—for an industry affiliates program. McGehee seems too mild-mannered and reflective to ever muster any public bravado. Nevertheless, he's keenly aware of being lifted above the typical scrambling for dollars. He's not getting the attention of a rock star, but he's a clean-tech star. “The only reason I would ever want publicity is if it helps me to get good people and funding,” he says. “Now I have good people and funding.” Cui's focus is on energy storage, and the potential results include the kind of benefit the average consumer can appreciate: better batteries for laptops, cell phones, iPods and other devices. He smiles more readily than McGehee and may be a little more animated, but he too seems to be utterly without swagger or affectation. As best Cui can recall, he reacted to the news of the KAUST grant by going for a quiet walk so he could begin mentally organizing his plans. He's sure that the first person he called was his wife, and he remembers thinking, just because of the excitement in her voice, “that it sounded like she might be jumping in the air.” McGehee's center will support research by 16 professors—12 at Stanford—and they'll have an array of new equipment at their disposal. Peter Peumans, assistant professor of electrical engineering, worked closely with McGehee in writing the KAUST proposal and is the center's deputy director. A six-person management team, which includes McGehee and Peumans, has been established as a way of sharing control and oversight. The center's goal is highly focused: to develop more efficient solar cells (photovoltaic cells) by depositing liquid solutions of semiconductors on the part of the cells that usually is made with silicon semiconductors. Think of the process, McGehee says, “as painting instead of tiling” the cells. The work involves nanoscale technology and the ultimate goal is to “generate solar cells at a price competitive with coal-fired power plants.” KAUST, scheduled for completion next year, is billed as an international, graduate-level research university accessible to men and women. It says all classes will be conducted in English, and the core disciplines will include industrial biotechnology, scientific computing, and energy and environment. The Los Angeles Times described the project as a signal of Saudi Arabia's pressing need for globalized education, but also as a political tinderbox because of its Westernized features. The funding for McGehee and Cui is just a portion of the money being spent by KAUST to establish collaborative relationships around the world. Stanford is partnering with KAUST in other areas, such as helping to select faculty and organize parts of the curriculum. “We've been assured there will be no restriction on academic or social freedom at the university,” McGehee says. McGehee's obligations to KAUST are as a resource for collaboration; Cui will spend three weeks per year at KAUST. Both bubble a bit as they look ahead. Cui, noting that his KAUST grant is “20 times a National Science Foundation grant,” says he has budgeted a large amount of money for equipment that other Stanford scientists will be able to utilize. “It's really satisfying,” McGehee says, “to watch people coming together for this.” http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2002/03.21/01-nano.html Yi Cui (left), Charles Lieber (center), and Wayne Wang discuss a wire sensor they have made to detect low levels of prostate cancer. Because the wire is only about 100 atoms thick, they used the large, powerful microscope in the foreground to see and manipulate wires mounted on circuit chips. (Staff photo by Kris Snibbe) HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES Nanowire is used to sense cancer marker: May be used to detect diseases and biowarfare agents By William J. Cromie Gazette Staff Last month, when Professor Charles Lieber and his students made wires whose thinness is measured in atoms instead of fractions of an inch, he boasted excitedly that "there are so many potential uses for this technology that we feel like kids in a candy shop." In the past week, Lieber's team has developed what is likely to be an important piece of scientific candy, a coated wire capable of detecting low levels of a protein that marks the presence or recurrence of prostate cancer. "The device immediately senses levels of PSA (prostate-specific antigen) four times smaller than is now possible with blood tests that often take days," says Lieber, Hyman Professor of Chemistry at Harvard University. He believes it will be possible to expand the use of such unimaginably small wires to sense the presence of malignancies, such as breast and ovarian cancers, as well as other types of diseases, and pathogens used in biological warfare. The sensor is so small it opens up the possibility of detectors implanted in the body to continuously monitor levels of insulin and other critical molecules. The nanowire, as it's known, is a scant 10-billionths of a meter (10 nanometers) in diameter, or about five times smaller than a virus. Its length stretches to approximately 1,000 nanometers. Proteins called antibodies, placed along the wire, bind to antigen proteins like PSA in a blood sample. The antigens carry an electric charge that changes the conductivity of the wire when they stick to the antibodies. That change can be measured by an ordinary voltmeter. The technology exists for making antibodies to any protein specific to a disease, or to proteins present in viruses, bacteria, or other pathogens. This capability leads Lieber to envision an inexpensive generic device that would quickly detect many different disease markers and biowarfare agents such as anthrax spores. Chips that carry such detectors could be made small and cheaply enough to equip soldiers, firefighters, and other individuals with one. Harvard has applied for a patent on the device, and a company called Nanosys, which was founded by Lieber, has licensed the technology. "Our goal is to have testable prototypes of a PSA detector within a year," Lieber says. "Depending on the necessary FDA approval, and tests with cancer patients, a couple more years of work could lead to a commercial product." This process could be accelerated if the chip can fill a unique gap, such as providing a disease or biowarfare test where none now exists. Pushing the limit Prostate cancer survivors, like myself, live with the fear that tumor cells will regrow and spread to our bones. We undergo regular checks of PSA. A rise in blood levels of that protein signals recurrence may have begun. In such cases, you want to detect any rise in PSA as soon as possible. At present, it takes a couple of days to get the results of a blood test, with a detectibility limit of 0.02 nanograms per milliliter. Lieber's students Yi Cui and Wayne Wang tested a nanowire detector that pushes this limit down to 0.005. What's more, the result is obtained immediately. With a commercial version, a physician could do the test in one office visit, or a patient might monitor his PSA at home, the way diabetics now track their blood sugar levels. Cui and Wang did their tests on PSA samples of known concentration sent by collaborators at the University of California Medical School, San Francisco. "We're now attempting to get certification to test blood samples from people who had or have prostate cancer and those who don't have the disease," notes Lieber. "We need to prove that we can detect PSA in a fluid full of other charged proteins. Tests we've done so far make us reasonably confident that we can." Detecting malignant changes When a cell becomes transformed from normal to cancerous, PSA is not the only thing that changes. A sick cell has at least six other proteins not present in a well cell. A capability to detect all these changes could conceivably give scientists a better understanding of how this cancer develops in the first place. "We can make a chip with 10 wires holding 10 different antibodies as easily as you can do it with one," Lieber comments. "It takes up only nanospace." Keener insight into how a normal cell progresses to a malignant one may solve the biggest dilemma facing every prostate cancer patient: which treatment he should choose. Choices include surgery, two types of radiation, hormones, and doing nothing. The last has appeal because many tumors grow so slowly that the chances of an older man dying from the disease are lower than dying from some other cause. On the other hand, more aggressive tumors can kill a patient if he doesn't choose a treatment in time. Being able to test for the complex of proteins associated with development of the tumor holds the potential for determining both how aggressive a malignancy is and what might be the best course of treatment. "We've also begun to look past prostate cancer to other cancers and diseases, especially breast cancer," Lieber notes. "Breast cancer will be more difficult because we don't have a robust marker like PSA. Markers for breast and ovarian cancer are not as positive. We would probably need a combination of antibodies on several wires." Taking another step into the future, Lieber and his students, in collaboration with Xiaowei Zhuang, assistant professor of chemistry, are setting up a capability to detect low levels of viruses. They will start with a flu virus. These experiments should be easier than working with PSA because viruses are larger than the PSA protein and carry a higher electrical charge. "The natural charge is what gives us the detection signal," Lieber explains. "We should be able to easily detect a single virus." Small, cheap, simple detectors could warn people about the presence of pathogens that cause natural epidemics, or that have been introduced by terrorists. Lieber believes they would be more effective than any system now in place. He also thinks that, once developed, nanowire devices could become a valuable tool for use at Harvard's new research center, the Molecular Target Laboratory. The center, just funded by a $40 million grant from the National Cancer Institute, has a goal of determining the role of proteins in disease and investigating which natural or synthetic molecules might be used in drug treatments. Gently scan your fellow man. - Burns
近期读了一篇发表于INT J LCA上的文章。作者在核算上游原油开采和天然气开采的能源消耗时采用了前人的研究数据，但两者的算法略有差别。原文如下： XXX reported an input of 0.54 MJ/MJ crude oil extraction; this translates to 24.3 MJ energy input per kilogram crude oil extracted ( for energy value of 45 MJ/kg crude oil). The life cycle energy efficiency for the production of natural gas is reported to be 21%; this can be translated to 11.34 MJ required for every kilogram of natural gas produced (for 54MJ/kg natural gas). 在计算原油开采时的能源消耗时，作者采用了energy intensity进行折算。 而在计算天然气开采的能源消耗时，作者采用了energy efficiency进行折算。 这两者是否存在区别呢？ 第二种算法是否合理？
Called GraphExeter, the material could revolutionise the creation of wearable electronic devices, such as clothing containing computers, phones and MP3 players. GraphExeter could also be used for the creation of ‘smart’ mirrors or windows, with computerised interactive features. Since this material is also transparent over a wide light spectrum, it could enhance by more than 30% the efficiency of solar panels. Adapted from graphene, GraphExeter is much more flexible than indium tin oxide (ITO), the main conductive material currently used in electronics. ITO is becoming increasingly expensive and is a finite resource, expected to run out in 2017. These research findings are published in Advanced Materials , a leading journal in materials science. At just one-atom-thick, graphene is the thinnest substance capable of conducting electricity. It is very flexible and is one of the strongest known materials . The race has been on for scientists and engineers to adapt graphene for flexible electronics. This has been a challenge because of its sheet resistance, which limits its conductivity. Until now, no-one has been able to produce a viable alternative to ITO. To create GraphExeter, the Exeter team sandwiched molecules of ferric chloride between two layers of graphene. Ferric chloride enhances the electrical conductivity of graphene, without affecting the material’s transparency. The material was produced by a team from the University of Exeter’s Centre for Graphene Science. The research team is now developing a spray-on version of GraphExeter, which could be applied straight onto fabrics, mirrors and windows. Lead researcher, University of Exeter engineer Dr Monica Craciun said: “GraphExeter could revolutionise the electronics industry. It outperforms any other carbon-based transparent conductor used in electronics and could be used for a range of applications, from solar panels to ‘smart’ teeshirts. We are very excited about the potential of this material and look forward to seeing where it can take the electronics industry in the future.” More information: http://onlinelibra … 489/abstract
The world’s waterways were once the premier means of transporting goods, and as global economies look to reduce their carbon footprints, they could regain superhighway status. The US state of California, for example, is working to reduce emissions and road congestion by shifting freight transportation from trucks to barges. The California Green Trade Corridor is scheduled to open in 2012, and officials say upgrades to port facilities along the coast will create new opportunities to transport exports east to Asia, helping facilitate trade that is less energy intensive. Energy use among APEC member economies accounts for around 60% of world energy demand, and that figure is set to grow more than 30% by 2030 as those economies expand and their populations become more integrated. 1 With concerns over mobility and energy efficiency in mind, APEC is preparing its first Transportation and Energy Ministerial Conference in September, which will focus on how the APEC region can move toward a low-energy, low-carbon sustainable transport future. The meeting, the first joint initiative of APEC’s Energy and Transportation Working Groups, will build upon progress made separately by both bodies in May. At a gathering in Vancouver that month members from the Energy Working Group agreed to improve energy efficiency in transport, phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies and encourage low-carbon communities. In Montana in May, APEC’s trade ministers went to work on a plan aimed at furthering APEC’s green growth agenda. To promote better sharing of environmental technologies, they discussed ways to advance trade in green vehicles and technologies by encouraging technology transfer. Ministers also agreed to support the green agenda by promoting trade in remanufactured goods that reduce waste and save energy. Green growth is a key priority for APEC in 2011, as are ongoing efforts to strengthen integration, expand trade and promote regulatory cooperation between its 21 members. Not only does a greener economy create growth – largely through new jobs that, in turn, deepen prosperity – but it also helps grow trade and investment in the APEC region. “If everyone is addressing environmental concerns in the same way, if we have similar standards in place, similar testing procedures, it should increase trade among everybody, which again gets back to economic growth,” said Dr. Phyllis Genther Yoshida, the Lead Shepherd of APEC’s Energy Working Group and Deputy Assistant Secretary for the International Energy Cooperation. Greening the supply chain through energy-efficient freight transportation is one of four topics on September’s conference agenda and will enhance previous efforts APEC has put toward improving trade. Those include expanding the modes of transport so the flow of goods does not depend entirely on trucks or airplanes, and improving transport linkages to facilitate a more seamless movement of people, goods and services. APEC’s green agenda extends to its supply-chain connectivity action plan, a key initiative of APEC’s Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI). Through a supply chain framework laid out in 2009, APEC adopted a set of action plans that will optimize supply chain efficiency by addressing eight “chokepoints” that currently impede the flow of goods. Broadly, they relate to customs inefficiencies, inadequate infrastructure and the quality of logistical services and management. In addition to setting guidelines on regulations and tariffs and improving access to information through online references, such as the APEC logistics website, it is also conducting studies on environmental goods and services. For example, within the supply-chain connectivity action plan is a study and seminar that would assess the environmental benefits of transit-oriented development and compare case studies from developed and developing economies. To help improve the quality of APEC members’ logistics services and management, APEC economies are coordinating to share successful experiences of companies that have “greened” their supply chains to help enhance the competitiveness of regional logistics providers. 2 In 2007 APEC’s Leaders resolved to reduce the energy use needed for economic output to 25 percent of 2005 levels by 2030, and the APEC Leaders’ Growth Strategy adopted in Yokohama, Japan, in 2010 prioritizes a transition to a clean energy future. Based partly on pledges member economies made to support renewable energy and improved efficiency during the UN Climate Change Conference in Cancún last November, APEC is already set to surpass its 25 percent reduction goal. The Asia-Pacific Energy Research Center expects a 38 percent decline by 2030 under a business as usual scenario. 3 The move in the US for a higher fuel economy for cars and trucks, and industrial efficiency in China also count for a big chunk of the energy savings, said Dr. Yoshida, who predicts reductions will probably reach closer to 40 or 50 percent. That is APEC’s real mission; the pragmatic implementation of best practices, she says, and is the impetus behind September’s conference. In the run-up to that meeting, the Energy and Transportation Working Groups have been striving to intertwine and intensify their individual efforts. One of the four pillars of a new APEC-related Energy Smart Communities Initiative – announced last November by the US and Japan – is smart transportation. Already 16 projects are up and running, and the EWG will bring these examples to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in November. The four projects grouped under the smart transportation pillar will focus on reducing the costs, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions associated with transporting goods. The other pillars cover smart buildings, smart grids and smart jobs, which focuses on workforce training. “All of this is meant to take best practices, capacity building and research – like round robin testing for appliances, so we all are testing in the same way – and really provide that concrete piece that helps us get to a more secure APEC in terms of energy and obviously also helps with the environment and trade,” said Dr. Yoshida. September’s conference, a public-private forum that will bring leading CEOs and others from the private sector together with ministers from APEC member economies, is a way of sharing information about best practices and highlighting projects that can be replicated across the Asia-Pacific region. Private sector players worth highlighting could be FedEx, said Dr. Yoshida. In a recent news release the company said it plans to add more than 4,000 fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrid-electrics, to its fleet around the US, dramatically reducing fuel use and carbon dioxide emissions in the delivery sector. Hybrid trucks improve fuel economy by 42 percent and cut greenhouse gas emissions by a quarter. FedEx’s current 330 hybrid-electrics have saved almost 300,000 gallons of fuel and reduced CO2 emissions by around 3,000 metric tons since 2005. 4 Many developing economies still struggle to bring fuel-efficient vehicles online as they work instead to improve inefficient logistics systems caused by poor infrastructure. But that challenge also offers an opportunity to “green” projects from their start, before too much investment is made in less green technologies, say officials at Indonesia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, or Kadin. Currently, businesses’ main concern is how to get products from point A to point B efficiently and without additional expenses. Kadin is working to help businesses see beyond the challenges posed by a lack of ports and railroads in an economy comprising 17,000 islands and spanning a distance as wide as the United States. “Kadin is developing green innovation awards and would love to see some innovative green projects that are suited to Indonesia’s complicated logistic requirements,” said Shinta Widjaya Kamdani, Vice Chairman for Environment and Climate Change at Kadin. Already Indonesia, one of the four economies participating in the smart transportation pillar, has begun testing green transport technologies. In 2009 it piloted a technology called Consload that allows shipping and logistics companies to work with SMEs to select goods for consolidation, decide how to pack them and determine the best routes for delivery. “We see our job as pragmatic implementers, so we can get to the point,” said Dr. Yoshida. “If we have a higher aspirational goal for energy intensity everybody feels like they can buy onto that because they see the tools coming into place to reach it.” According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, transport, including freight, accounts for 13.1 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions. It also accounts for 27 percent of total energy consumption in APEC economies. 5 Road and air transport release the most emissions, with rail and sea being cleaner alternatives. Since freight transport accounts for a substantial portion of energy use in the APEC region, one point of discussion at September’s conference will be how freight shippers can shift from energy-intensive transport modes, such as trucks, to rail and ship. “It’s not just about creating cleaner, lower-carbon trade, but also being more efficient and having more efficient products, which helps you produce more,” Dr. Yoshida said. For more information, contact: media@apec.org Energy security critical to prosperity, says APEC Secretariat Executive Director; APEC News Release, May 24, 2011. Committee on Trade and Investment, “2010 CTI Annual Report to Ministers: Appendix 5. Supply-Chain Connectivity (SC) Action Plan”; APEC#210-CT-01.6, November 2010. Energy Smart Communities Initiative (ESCI), power point presentation drafted by APEC’s Energy Working Group; July 2011. FedEx Alternative Energy website: http://about.van.fedex.com/corporate_responsibility/the_environment/alternative_energy/cleaner_vehicles Energy Smart Communities Initiative (ESCI), power point presentation drafted by APEC’s Energy Working Group; July 2011. 原文见 http://www.apec.org/Press/Features/2011/0905_greensupplychain.aspx
http://scienceblog.com/ Routing techniques of Internet could up efficiency of multicore chips Has the Dead Sea Used Up its Nine Lives? Epilepsy seizures often aren’t Location=health? Geographic information systems demonstrate links More exercise, eating less fat and weight loss programs are in, popular diets are out Uok? Text messages — even automated ones — can soothe the disconnected soul Cutting just 64 calories per day could halt childhood obesity epidemic Dental X-rays linked to common brain tumor Meningioma Approach to diabetes self-management too narrow Responding to growing Asia Pacific research strengths
MANHASSET, NY -- A three-year European research project aims to push solar-cell efficiency towards 25 percent and reduce power conversion losses by 20 percent. The project is set to meet Europe’s 2020 climate targets and general energy policies. The ERG program is set to improve the efficiency of solar cells, devise innovative harvesting techniques, reduce power-conversion losses, and enhance energy-management strategies. European researchers will focus on the design and development of innovative solar cells that includes printable dye-sensitized solar cells as a low-cost alternative to silicon solutions. The project partners will also research novel power-management techniques for silicon-cell panels that track the maximum power point to boost output from solar arrays and improve power-conversion efficiency at the module and segment levels. ERG will also generate behavioral models for individual components of the smart grid with optimal energy-dispatching and battery-charging algorithms based on inputs from wireless sensor nodes distributed across the network. “ERG’s goal is to achieve significant efficiency improvements along the whole supply chain from PV panels to grid connection and make them available to all partners,” said ERG project coordinator Francesco Gennaro, a Staff Engineer at STMicroelectronics, in a statement. The 27 partners of the so-called ERG JU includes semiconductor makers Infineon Technologies, NXP Semiconductors, ON Semiconductor, STMicroelectronics, and solar panel manufacturers Applied Materials and Power Tech, as well as European industry and academic research organizations. The ENIAC (European Nanoelectronics Initiative Advisory Council) Joint Undertaking (JU) is a public-private partnership on nanoelectronics made up of ENIAC member States, the European Union, and AENEAS (representing European nanoelectronics RD entities). The total cost of the project is EUD25.7 million (about $34 million), partially funded through a combination of European and national grants from Italy, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Ireland, The Netherlands, Slovak Republic and United Kingdom. The ENIAC JU was set up in February 2008 and allocates grants throughout 2013. Funded projects need to be completed by end of 2017. The total value of the RD activities generated through the ENIAC JU is estimated at 3 B (almost $4 billion). http://www.powermanagementdesignline.com/electronics-news/4236142/European-research-project-to-boost-solar-cell-efficiency
‘Work smarter not harder’ is one of the most popular catchphrases fueling the information age. Yet most of us frequently overlook the fact that time is the only true luxury we have in life. Being more productive doesn’t make you stronger, cooler, or wealthier. It allows you to get more done in less time so you can use the time you save to get more enjoyment out of life. Here are 50 ideas to help you do just that: Do what you don’t want to do first. – If you handle the toughest tasks first when your mind is fresh, you’ll get done quicker and make the rest of the day more enjoyable. Focus on high impact tasks. – Figure out what will have the greatest impact today, and make sure you address the most important stuff first. Don’t get caught up in odd jobs, even those that seem urgent, unless they are also important. Don’t confuse being busy with being productive. – Stop and ask yourself if what you’re working on is worth the effort. Is it bringing you in the same direction as your goals? (Read The Success Principles .) Accept imperfections. – Perfectionism is the enemy of completion. Don’t ignore the forest for the sake of one lonely tree. Most of the time small imperfections aren’t even noticed, so don’t waste all your time on them. Create and refer to a TO-DON’T list. – A to-don’t is a list of things not to do. It might sound funny, but it’s useful for keeping track of unproductive habits, like playing online flash games, checking Facebook, etc. Use productive shortcuts. – There are productive shortcuts for almost everything you do. Finding and using them can save you a few minutes here and there on a daily basis. If you use a computer, learn the keyboard shortcuts for the programs you use most often. If you can permanently delegate one of your regular tasks to someone else, do it. Is there a route to work with less traffic? Where can you hit two birds with one stone? Narrow the number of ventures you’re involved in. – Productivity is not usually my challenge, narrowing the number of ventures to be productive in is. Even when you have the knowledge and ability to access super-productive states, you get to a point where being simultaneously super-productive on too many fronts at once causes all activities to slow down, stand still and sometimes even slide backwards. Pick-up the phone. – We’ve become so accustomed to communicating digitally, sending emails, IMs and texts, etc. that we forget we can get some tasks accomplished in a fraction of the time with one or two quick phone calls. Use technology to automate tasks. – From creating email filters, to automatically backing-up your hard drive, to automatic bill paying. The more you automate, the more you can get done without with the same level of effort. Learn to search Google effectively. – If Google is the portal to the information superhighway, Google’s advanced search operators are the most efficient vehicles on the road. Once you learn them, you will find what you seek in half the time, every time. For example, with Google, you could search for “life lessons” site:www.marcandangel.com to find all of the life lessons posted on our blog. Spending less time looking for information means that you can get more done. Group similar tasks back-to-back. – Switching gears between different types of tasks can be tough. It takes most people several minutes to get into a productive mental groove geared for a specific type of task. Therefore, it makes sense to group similar tasks in an effort to minimize the number of rough patches, and thus wasted time, between task orders. Pay attention and get it right the first time. – The better listener you are, the more you will learn. The more you learn now, the fewer questions you will have later, and the less time you will spend searching for answers. And obviously, doing things right the first time eliminates future delays. Eliminate all distractions for a set time. – Distractions are everywhere. They arrive via email, cell phone, coworker inquiry, etc. I’ve found that cutting out all distractions for a set time is one of the most effective ways to get things done in less time. You can’t remain in hiding forever, but you can be nearly four times as productive while you are. Plan ahead and start early. – 10 minutes of dedicated time planning each evening will save you from 30 minutes of ad-hoc preparation each morning. Likewise, starting your morning on purpose 30 minutes early will likely inject at least 60 additional productive minutes into your day. Think about it. Organize your space. – How much time do you think the average person wastefully spends searching for items they’ve misplaced? Keeping both your living and working spaces organized will undoubtedly allow you to get thing done more efficiently. Choose a dedicated spot. – Don’t put your car keys, cell phone, etc. in a different spot each evening after work. Choose a dedicated spot and make it a habit. There is nothing more frustrating in the morning than looking for the stuff you need. Morning scavenger hunts are a huge waste of time. Productively use waiting time. – Waiting time does not have to be wasted time. When you are waiting at the doctor’s office, the post office, or on hold for the next available representative, what simple tasks could you complete while you wait? How about sorting through your snail mail or email, writing those thank you notes you’ve been putting off, reading the book you keep meaning to read, reviewing/editing your to-do lists, etc. Stop over-analyzing things. – There comes a time when you have to stop evaluating something and just bite the bullet and do it. Contemplating taking action isn’t taking action. It gets nothing accomplished. Handle 2-minute tasks immediately. – “The 2 Minute Rule” is single greatest tip I picked up from David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done . If you roughly estimate that a task is going to take you less than two minutes to accomplish, do it right now. It’s a waste of time and energy to keep small tasks like this on your to-do list on in the back of your mind. Make reservations. – When a one minute phone call now can save one hour of waiting later. Ask more questions. – The trial and error process can be a huge waste of time. Often people view asking questions and relying on others as a weakness, but they are sadly mistaken. Asking legitimate questions will bring you closer to the people around you and likely save you a huge chunk of time. Win-win. Buy in bulk and cook in bulk. – Buying stuff and cooking food are two of the most common unplanned consumptions of time. Most people buy replacements in small amounts only when they need them and think about food only when they’re hungry. The problem is these issues will often arise at inopportune times. The most efficient way I’ve found to counteract this is by doing bulk loads of both. I know I’ll always need gas in my vehicle. So instead of putting in $25 here and $25 there, I top off my tank every time I’m at the station regardless of the sticker shock. Likewise, I know I’m going to be hungry at lunch time every day this week. So on Sundays I’ll grill up five extra chicken breasts and make a chicken wrap or sandwich for every day of the week. Standardize common tasks. – If you find yourself performing the same set of tasks on a regular basis then it makes sense to establish an efficient, standardized way of accomplishing them. Are certain tasks easier to perform in the morning? Are there additional resources that can be utilized only at a certain time? It’s up to you to find an efficient pattern, standardize it and follow it. Stop consuming the headline news every day. – Most news has no long term value. Mainstream media primarily focuses on ‘what’s hot now’ instead of ‘what will be useful tomorrow.’ Stop mindlessly browsing online ad infinitum. – Web browsing is one of the immense black holes in time spending. Before you realize it, you may have spent hours browsing while generating very little value. Turn off the TV. – Nuff said. Make better usage of commute times. – Listen to audio books, make calls, do some proactive time planning, etc. I use Evernote on my iPad and capture tons of ideas and thoughts when I’m commuting and traveling on business. Write things down. – Nobody’s memory is perfect. If you don’t take notes and setup to-do lists for yourself you will end up wasting time several minutes of time every day trying to remember things that would have taken you seconds to write down. Consolidate all daily errands into one trip. – Consolidate all of your errands into one trip instead of driving back and forth several times from home to the store to home to the bank to home, etc. Exercise daily. – I know it sounds counter-intuitive. You have to spend time exercising. But exercise boosts cognitive function, creativity, problem solving and productivity. In fact a NASA study showed employees who exercised daily worked at 100% efficiency after seven hours, while those who didn’t saw a 50% drop, meaning it took them twice as long to accomplish the same thing. (Read The 4-Hour Body .) Use a timer. – I use a timer to limit the amount of time I spend on daily tasks such as email, returning calls, cranking through my to-do lists, etc. This keeps me from getting overly distracted from the truly important tasks I must accomplish during the day. Harness the power of teamwork. – I heard a story once about some horses that were in a competition to see which could pull the most weight. One horse pulled 3,000 lbs and another one pulled 4,000 lbs. Someone suggested the horses team together to see how much they could pull. Most guesses were in the 7,000 lb to 10,000 lb range but when those two horses worked together, they pulled an amazing 20,000 lbs. That’s the power of teamwork. Good teamwork can get a large project completed in an amazingly short amount of time. Just say NO! – While saying yes can take us down some wonderful roads, there’s also a ton of value in saying “no.” We’re only given a certain amount of hours in our lives; do you really want to give yours away so easily? If you don’t have to time to commit to a new project, complete a favor, or serve on another committee, it’s a good idea to just say “no.” Focus your attention on one thing at a time. – Cutting out multitasking (or “multi-slacking” as I call it) leaves you to focus more intently on one task and finish it to completion, rather than having many tasks started and nothing finished. Create productivity triggers for yourself. – If you’re fighting yourself every step of the way, forming diligent habits is hard. You need to create triggers to help you out. A simple example would be packing your gym bag the night before to keep you from having an excuse not to go to the gym. Or put the books you need to take back to the library in front of the door, so you can’t leave the house without seeing them and remembering they need to be returned. Touch inbox items only once. – This one is difficult for most people (myself included), but it really makes a difference. For new email or other communications, look over it and decide what to do with it right away: archive, respond, flag for follow-up, etc. Regardless of how you process communications, just make sure you deal with them once rather than wasting time by looking at them without taking decisive action. Clean up your inbox. – Your inbox (email and otherwise) should only be for priority communication; otherwise it just wastes your time. Set-up email filters to keep things organized and filter spam in your email inbox ( here’s how in Gmail ). Use time multipliers. – Effective delegation of lower priority tasks is a time multiplier. Eliminating time wasting activities is a time multiplier. Screening phone calls is a time multiplier. By practicing creative procrastination on anything that doesn’t propel you toward your goals, you can multiply the amount of time you have to achieve those goals. Relocate closer to your place of employment. – In every major city in the world there are people traveling over an hour to reach their work destination from home. This is a huge chunk of time that could be used far more productively. Avoid meetings. – Not all meetings are a waste of time, but many are. If you frequently spend time in meetings, but would rather be doing your actual work instead of listening to other people talk about things they could have sent you in an email, see if you can get out of some of those meetings. You’ll get a lot more done. Let your mouse do the walking. – Shop online, rent movies online, pay bills online, etc. It’s so much more efficient. Keep it simple. – Keep your to-do lists and planning simple, and don’t waste time playing with new tools. There’s always going to be shiny programs that promise to make your day faster and more efficient. Stick with one, and learn to rely on it. Tell other people and hold yourself accountable. – It’s always a smart thing to tell people what you’re working on. If you tell your colleagues or friends that you’re going to get something done, it motivates you to see it through to completion. People who have a support system almost always find it easier to make things happen. Hire someone. – Sometimes it makes more sense to hire someone to do something, especially if your time is worth more money than you’re paying that person. For example, if I have a large yard that would take me five hours to maintain (it’s pretty big), it makes more sense for me to pay someone as I can earn more during those 5 hours by working. Other things you might pay someone for: other home maintenance projects, washing your car, doing errands or laundry, doing your taxes … just about anything where doing it yourself isn’t cost-effective. Spend minutes now to save hours later. – During happy hour last Friday I spent some time listening to one of my colleagues confess her utter distaste for the Windows 7 Start menu. “The system is organized all wrong. The programs I need are buried and the ones I never use are right at my finger tips. I waste so much time digging through menus,” she said. “But you can easily rearrange that,” I replied. She looked down with a despondent expression on her face. “I know,” she said. “Someone else told me that too, but I haven’t taken the time to figure it out.” Bottom line: Sometimes you have to spend a few minutes now to save hours of grief in the future. Practice the 80/20 rule. – Generally speaking, the 80/20 Rule states that 80% of our results come from 20% our actual work, and conversely, that we spend most of our energy doing things that aren’t important. Figure out what that 20% is comprised of and focus as much of your energy as you can on it. (Read The 4-Hour Workweek .) Time box. – Assign a set amount of time per day to work on a specific task or project. Focus entirely on that one thing during that timeframe. Don’t worry about finishing it, just worry about giving it your undivided attention for the set timeframe. (This is the opposite of having fixed goals. For example, you don’t get up until you’ve written a thousand words, or processed 25 orders, or whatever.) Remove information sources containing little value. – Unsubscribe from RSS feeds and newsletters that give no bang for their buck, and set up quick email filters to delete or de-prioritize the junk mail that isn’t easy to unsubscribe from. Don’t underestimate the time it takes to do something. – Know the opportunity cost of your actions and how long something will truly take to do. All things being equal, the best solution is the one that takes the least amount of total time (including maintenance time for fixing and support). What might have been a great idea with an hour of projected work would likely be a horrible idea if it took all day. Start now. – In the end, all the tips in the world won’t make as productive as you could be if you simply started to get things done right now. Don’t waste another minute! START!
标签: efficiency
